Spine Tingler has narrow, spine-edged leaflets that look more like holly than the rounded foliage most barrenworts carry. Epimedium 'Spine Tingler' grows 8 to 10 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide in part shade, hardy from Zone 5 through Zone 8.
Bright yellow spidery flowers open in spring on wiry stems above the foliage, and the new growth emerges tinged bronze before turning green.
The leaves are evergreen through winter in the milder part of the range. Cutting the old foliage back in late winter, before flower stems emerge, lets the bloom show without last year's leaves in the way.
Barrenwort is one of the few things that will grow in dry shade under mature trees, handling root competition and drought once established. It wants soil with organic matter to get going. It spreads slowly into a broad clump. Deer and rabbits leave it alone.